YouSaid · the spoken record

Sergey Lavrov

lines on the record: 265
first: 2004-09-24
most recent: 2023-09-24
sittings or episodes: 12
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“We will continue to uphold those principles in the work of the United Nations in the interests of improving global governance and genuinely democratizating international relations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The founding fathers of the United Nations understood that better than anyone. They believed — and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations — that our God-given existence on a single planet should compel all of us to unite in order to prevent the scourge of new wars. If we are to do that today, we badly need to revive the culture of diplomacy and dialogue and the quest for a balance of our interests, rather than making rash, instinctive decisions in our desire to punish those who disobey us. What this is really about is preserving humankind in all its richness and diversity. Russia has always been, and always will be, open to working together with all those who show that they are ready to meet halfway and cooperate on a basis of equality and mutual respect.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Through our joint efforts we have achieved a more balanced approach in the work of organizations such as the Group of 20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We believe in the vitality of this Organization and would like the Secretary-General to play an active role in facilitating the full realization of its potential based on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, while respecting the prerogatives of its intergovernmental bodies. Peacekeeping reform in particular requires a carefully tailored approach, without abrupt shifts or abandoning decades of invaluable accumulated experience. Two thousand years ago, the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, “We are born to live together”.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Those just and equitable principles form the foundation for the activities of various organizations in which Russia actively participates, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. We also continue to build relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the African Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and other associations of Asian, African and Latin American countries.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“A philosophy of coexistence, unity and harmonization of countries’ different interests underlies President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a greater Eurasian partnership, open to all States of Asia and Europe, with the goal of creating an economic and humanitarian space based on the principle of the indivisibility of security. It goes without saying that equal rights for all, individuals and States, would be a universal requirement, as stated in the Charter of the United Nations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“First and foremost, we must foster in young people respect for the cultural and civilizational diversity of today’s world. We invite everybody to the nineteenth World Festival of Youth and Students, which my country will host in Sochi less than a month from now. Another important event will take place in Russia at the same time, when St. Petersburg convenes the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, at which the main topic for discussion will be “Promoting cultural pluralism and peace through interfaith and inter-ethnic dialogue”. Let us encourage dialogue among various cultures and religions and stop using historical events to foment hatred and fear.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Without mutual trust, we cannot hope for the effective implementation of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals or the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, or for solutions to global issues that are so crucial to developing countries, such as food security, demographics and health care. The fundamental principles of international relations should include the recognition of political pluralism, freedom of choice and the rule of law. We must stop relying on military alliances and instead provide support and security guarantees to States that opt for neutrality. On the economic front, we must work to lower barriers to trade and investment and stop politicizing economic relations. The International Olympic Movement, and sports in general, should remain outside politics.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We need collective approaches, not unilateral ones. The process of shaping a polycentric world order is also a trend — a changing event that reflects the redistribution of the global balance of power and the increasing role that the cultural and civilizational identity of peoples plays in it. All of us, including those who are used to telling the world what to do, will have to adapt to it. It is in our common interests not to try to restrain this natural process. We will have to work to ensure that the world order becomes fair and democratic, 26/33 17-29585 just as the founding fathers of the United Nations envisioned. Globalization should unite rather than divide people, while taking account of the interests of all States without exception and contributing to a stable and secure future for all humankind.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We must work to stop it becoming an arena for political and military confrontation and prevent the use of information and communications technologies as instruments for exerting pressure, inflicting economic damage and spreading terrorist and extremist propaganda. The United Nations should focus its efforts on formulating rules for responsible behaviour in the digital sphere that can meet the security interests of all States. Russia has drafted a universal convention on countering cybercrime, including hacking, and we hope to launch discussions on it during the current session. It is clear that in future the world will continue to confront a whole range of new, long-term problems affecting our entire civilization. We have no right to waste our energy, time and efforts on geopolitical games.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Under the existing treaty regimes in the area of arms control and non-proliferation, the complete elimination of nuclear weapons should be the end result of a process of universal and total disarmament that continues to ensure equal and indivisible security. Attempts to outlaw nuclear weapons that ignore current realities and all the factors that can affect strategic stability serve only to make this common goal further off than ever and to undermine the consensus regimes of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We urge everyone to say no to the militarization of the information space.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We can combat extremism and terrorism together, without double standards or hidden agendas, only based on the primary responsibility of States, as envisaged in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We welcome the reform of United Nations counter-terrorism activities that the Secretary-General has initiated, which the General Assembly has endorsed. We see the appointment of a Russian to head the new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism as an acknowledgement of the role that Russia has played in combating this evil, and we thank everyone for their support. Russia is committed to the goal of achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“With regard to issues in the Middle East and North Africa, we cannot put United Nations decisions on the Palestinian question and the Arab Peace Initiative on the backburner, much less consign them to oblivion. We believe that restoring Palestinian unity is crucial and welcome Egypt’s efforts in that direction. Russia is ready to assist in every possible way with the resumption of direct talks between Israel and Palestine, and to cooperate with its partners in the Quartet and the Arab League of States for that purpose. As long as the Palestinian question goes unresolved, it will continue to be exploited by extremists, who are attracting ever more new recruits. The never-ending bloody terrorist attacks around the world illustrate the illusory nature of efforts to create isolated safe havens.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We believe firmly that anyone who sincerely desires peace for Syria and its people should take part in this process under the leadership of the United Nations and without any preconditions. The incidents where chemical weapons have been used in the region are a separate issue. Every case should be investigated honestly and professionally, with no attempts to manipulate the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism. Finding solutions to humanitarian issues and reconciling conflicting parties are also relevant issues for other crises in the region, including the situations in Libya, Yemen and Iraq. In all of those situations, as with any conflict, Russia is pursuing a balanced policy and working with all parties without exception.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The sixth international meeting on Syria, held in Astana on 14 and 15 September, finalized the establishment of the four de-escalation zones, which had been agreed on with the participation of Russia, Iran, Turkey, the United States, Jordan and the United Nations, with the support of many other countries. The agreements create the conditions for further progress towards implementing Security Council resolution 2254 (2015) on the basis of direct dialogue between the Government and the opposition aimed at uniting their efforts to eliminate the terrorist epicentre as soon as possible and restoring peace and unity throughout the country, while resolving its acute humanitarian problems. The most urgent task is to increase the supplies of humanitarian aid and demining the liberated territories.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The explosion of international terrorism, the millions of refugees and unprecedented waves of illegal migration are to a large degree the result of the attempts of the past few years to achieve regime change, including through the armed interventions that have wreaked havoc and destruction in the Middle East and North Africa and have paved the way for terrorists in parts of the world where they had never appeared before. Despite the fact that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is pulling back in Syria and Iraq, considerable additional effort will be needed to stabilize the region. We should recall that we are fighting Al-Nusra as well as ISIL, despite the fact that for some reason Al-Nusra is tolerated by United States coalition members. Recent developments in Syria have given grounds for cautious optimism.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Incitement to disorder and threats of violent intervention in the cause of the democratization of Venezuela are unacceptable, as is any action aimed at undermining the legitimate Government of any country. In any internal conflict, the international community must encourage the parties to take the path of national reconciliation and compromise. Efforts to ignore the opinions of others and resort to decrees and ultimatums, or to use force to circumvent the Charter of United Nations, have never done any good.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“But whipping up military hysteria is not only a blind alley, it is a deadly one. It goes without saying that all Security Council resolutions must be implemented but, along with sanctions, they all include provisions on the importance of resuming talks. We must stop blocking those provisions. There is no alternative to the political and diplomatic route, based on a dialogue among all interested parties, for addressing the Korean peninsula’s nuclear problem. We urge all responsible members of the international community to support the Russian-Chinese road map, as outlined by the Foreign Ministries of Russia and China in a joint statement on 4 July.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Today we have all been watching with alarm as the United States has imposed yet another set of restrictions — in fact, extraterritorial restrictions — on Iran, and threatening the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which has become a key factor in international and regional stability. The United States embargo on Cuba, which has gone on for more than half a century, is a demonstration of the uselessness of policies involving unilateral sanctions, and almost every Member State has been calling for it to be lifted for decades. It is time to listen to them. The spiralling confrontation around the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is unraveling dangerously. We firmly condemn Pyongyang’s adventurist nuclear- missile manoeuvres, which violate Security Council resolutions.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The continuing indifference to the shameful issue of statelessness that persists in Europe is also unacceptable, as is the suppression of minority languages, which is a gross violation of Council of Europe conventions. History has shown us throughout the ages that arriving at lasting settlements to disputes is possible only through dialogue and finding a balance between the conflicting parties’ core interests. Unfortunately, outright pressure is replacing diplomacy increasingly often in the arsenals of a number of Western countries. Imposing unilateral sanctions on top of those authorized by the Security Council is an illegitimate act that undermines the collective international effort.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We need constant vigilance to maintain a secure shield against neo-Nazism, revanchism, extremism and xenophobia and strengthen international and intercultural harmony. Inciting hatred and intolerance, terrorists, extremists and nationalists destroy and desecrate objects of historical, religious and cultural value. Civilized Europe tolerates the demolition of monuments to the liberators of the continent and heroes of the Second World War whose victory was the foundation for the United Nations. We think this issue should be a priority for immediate attention from the General Assembly and UNESCO with a view to establishing a legal framework to prevent such actions, and Russia intends to submit proposals for it.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We believe Russia’s proposal will help to facilitate a settlement of the internal crisis in Ukraine that resulted from the anti-constitutional coup led by ultra-radicals. We hope for constructive interaction on the issues with our European and United States partners, without zero-sum games. Here at United Nations Headquarters, we should bear in mind how the United Nations began. The decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal were a warning against forgetting the lessons of the Second World War and the disastrous consequences of attempts to take control of the world’s destiny by trampling on the lawful interests of other nations and peoples. It is disgusting to use concerns about freedom of expression as a pretext for condoning radical movements that preach neo-Nazi ideology and support the glorification of Nazis and their associates.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Despite the efforts of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group, the authorities in Kyiv constantly come up with new ploys to interfere with the implementation of their commitments under the package of measures outlined in the Minsk agreements of 12 February 2015 and endorsed by the Security Council. But even in those circumstances, Russia has been focused on constructive effort and on finding mutually acceptable ways to implement the Minsk agreements. In response to concerns that have been expressed about the current security situation, President Putin has launched an initiative to establish a United Nations mission to protect the OSCE observers in the Donbas region, and a corresponding draft resolution has been introduced in the Security Council.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“However, that has not been reciprocated by our Western partners, intoxicated as they were by the illusion of the onset of the end of history, and who are still trying to adapt rudimentary institutions designed for an era of bloc-versus-bloc confrontation to today’s realities. NATO wants to recreate the climate of the Cold War and refuses to implement the principle it solemnly declared in the 1990s — equal and indivisible security throughout the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The West has built its policies according to the principle of “he who is not with us is against us”, and has proceeded with the heedless expansion of NATO eastwards, fomenting instability in post-Soviet geopolitics and inciting anti-Russian feeling. It is that policy that lies at the root of the protracted conflict in Ukraine.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I believe that we can all subscribe to those words, especially if United States foreign policy will in fact be conducted on that basis. Russia has always abided by the principles of sovereignty, non-interference in the affairs of other States, the equality of peoples and mutual respect in its international dealings, and it will continue to uphold them. In the past quarter century, despite challenges, our country has taken on in good faith its share of the work of eliminating the legacy of the Cold War and has done much to strengthen trust and understanding in Europe, the Atlantic region and all over the world.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The minority was chiefly represented by the very countries that, contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, are attempting to dominate world affairs and impose their own development models and values on other States and peoples, led by a one-sided logic that undermines international law. But the world is not standing still. We were pleased that United States President Donald Trump unequivocally stated from this rostrum the day before yesterday that it is important to comply with the principles of sovereignty in international affairs and to lead by example rather than by imposing one’s will on other nations, and that countries with different values, cultures and aspirations can not only coexist but can work side by side on a basis of mutual respect.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In December of last year, the General Assembly adopted resolution 71/190, on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, which clearly stipulated the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of States and of coups d’état as a method of transferring power, and the importance of excluding from international relations certain States’ efforts to exert unlawful pressure on others, including through the extraterritorial application of national jurisdictions. An overwhelming majority of Member States voted in favour of the resolution.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Ban Ki-moon, who has made enormous efforts, in his position as Secretary-General, to renew the United Nations through timely actions. We believe that the new Secretary-General will also make a valuable contribution.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Furthermore, it includes issues ranging from the eradication of infectious diseases to ensuring the social responsibility of businesses and fostering scientific and technological progress. In addition, of course, the United Nations must promote civil dialogue, thereby strengthening pluralism, cultures and traditions and serving as a catalyst for progress in science and the arts. In essence, we are talking about preserving humanity in all of its riches and diversity. That goal should constitute the basis for our collective efforts. It should become an imperative for global development and an incentive for improving global governance and the true democratization of international relations. I would like to express our gratitude to His Excellency Mr.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“In the final analysis, that would be of crucial importance in preventing violations of the competitive environment and the transfer of polluting industries and dirty production from one country to another, which hampers the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The United Nations was established to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and develop equitable international cooperation. Today, that covers all areas of international life, including communication, political and military aspects of security, climate protection, conflict settlement, peacekeeping, ensuring human rights and freedoms, sustainable development, regulating information technology, and efforts to combat terrorism, drug- trafficking and corruption.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The communication of nationally determined contributions on a voluntary basis moves us toward achieving the objectives of the Agreement, namely, to hold the increase in the average global temperature to below 2°C. Clear rules and procedures to implement the provisions of the Paris Agreement, bearing in mind the interests of all countries participating in the process, should be developed in order to achieve success. In that context, the launch of market and non-market mechanisms to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, as stipulated in article VI of the Agreement, is a priority matter.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We will continue to promote the unification agenda in various international forums — the United Nations, the forum of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group, the SCO, and the Group of 20 (G-20). The recent summit in Hangzhou reaffirmed the status of the G-20 as a leading global economic and financial forum. We thank the Chinese chairmanship for its efforts to use that representative platform effectively for the exchange of views on the key issues of the global economy and on policies for the subsequent promotion of such agreements in the universal format of the United Nations. The signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has become an important event among United Nations activities.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We invite the countries of the region to agree on the ways to implement the initiative presented by President Putin to establish an extended Eurasia Partnership with the participation of the Eurasian Economic Union countries and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other interested States. I would like to underline that the aforementioned initiative is open and fully in line with the earlier plans to create a trade bloc between Russia and the European Union and is founded on the basis of World Trade Organization norms and principles, unlike other projects involving close trade blocs that undermine the unity of global trade systems.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“All sides must refrain from the further escalation of tension and embark on the way toward a political and diplomatic settlement of the nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula through the resumption of the talks. We will continue the dialogue within the framework of the East Asia Summits on the establishment of regional security and cooperation architecture in the Asia-Pacific region based on non-bloc foundations. A number of participating countries, including Russia, India, China and Indonesia, have submitted their views on that topic.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We continue to be open to an equitable and mutually respectful dialogue with NATO, including through the Collective Security Treaty Organization. It is necessary to work towards strengthening stability and equal and indivisible security in other parts of the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. The recent actions of North Korea, which violate Security Council resolutions, must be stopped. We call on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear-missile programmes and return to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons regime. However, it is inadmissible to use that situation as a pretext for a massive militarization of North-East Asia and a deployment of another set of United States global missile-defence systems.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The start of serious negotiations on that issue and on the Russia-China draft treaty on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space would help break the impasse in the key body of the United Nations multilateral disarmament architecture: the Conference on Disarmament. We call for substantial examination of our proposals to improve the Convention on Biological and Toxin Weapons. NATO member countries brought conventional arms control in Europe to a deep deadlock. Our attempts to save it have faced a tough ideology-driven counteraction. All ideas to return to that issue would be meaningful only if NATO countries recognized the absolute futility of ultimatums aimed at achieving unilateral advantages.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“However, progress towards nuclear disarmament must be made in the context of the full consideration of a whole set of factors that affect strategic stability, including the impact of unilateral global missile defence systems, the development of strategic non-nuclear strike weapons, the threat of the placement of weapons in outer space, the inability to ensure the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and the growing imbalance in conventional arms in Europe. We note the growing support for our initiative to draft an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The fundamental Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is being put to a serious test. Its parties find it more difficult to speak a common language, especially in a situation when certain nuclear Powers torpedo any compromises regarding the start of the negotiations on the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery in the Middle East. Russia has consistently supported the liberation of humankind from the threat of nuclear weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are drafting a Security Council resolution aimed at mobilizing efforts to eliminate such evils. We are looking forward to support for our initiative. The elimination of the breeding grounds for radicalism would be facilitated significantly by resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine. It is important to overcome the deep deadlock, which is stipulated in the 1 July 2016 report of the Quartet of Middle East facilitators. We call for the implementation of its recommendations. We are also seriously concerned about non-proliferation and arms control. There have been attempts to replace the key objectives of maintaining strategic stability in all its components with populist slogans of “nuclear zero”. We see a number of countries possessing nuclear arsenals not participating in the existing treaties.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We cannot address the global issues of countering international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other transboundary threats without abandoning the philosophy of exclusiveness and permissiveness. There should be no place for double standards in fighting terrorism. Truly universal joint efforts are required to create a broad counter- terrorist front, as President Putin proposed from this rostrum last year (see A/70/PV.13). The tragedies in Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Syria have proved the need to stop opportunistic attempts to use extremists as a way to advance geopolitical intentions. Before it is too late, it is necessary to think about the task of preventing the proliferation of terrorist and extremist ideology, which literally holds youth hostage in various regions of the world.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Hegemony has no place in the future, if we want it to be a just future that gives people the opportunity to choose their own ways of development. That entails the need to learn to respect one’s partners and respect the cultural and civilizational diversity of the modern world. We must therefore return to our origins — the norms and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and other instruments of the world Organization. Our commitment to that approach was reaffirmed in the Declaration of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China on the Promotion of International Law, signed on 25 June. The observance of the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non-interference in their internal affairs should become a measure of the decency and legitimacy of any member of the world community.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“The anniversary cautions us against forgetting the lessons of the Second World War and reminds us of the catastrophic consequences of attempting to determine the fate of the world by suppressing the legitimate interests of other States and peoples. The freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly should not be used as a cover for condoning radical movements that profess a Nazi ideology and support the glorification of the Nazis and their accomplices. The persistence of such vicious instincts dictates the need for consistent efforts to place a solid barrier in the way of neo-Nazism and revanchism, strengthen inter-ethnic and intercultural accord and rally the young generation around the ideas of justice and equality. We invite everyone to take part in the nineteenth World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi in October 2017.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“In the enlightened twenty-first century, it is simply indecent to adopt the role of mentor to everyone else, reserving for oneself the right to use doping in sports, launch unilateral adventures bypassing the United Nations, conduct geopolitical experiments that cost millions of human lives, engage in the extraterritorial blackmail of everyone, including one’s closest allies, while what is really intended is to advance one’s own financial profit, or even to set the criteria for the greatness of a particular country. All of that is unworthy of the principles of freedom and equality, on the basis of which great nations have grown and which are now being used by their elites to threaten the entire world. This year, we mark the seventieth anniversary of the Nuremberg Tribunal decisions.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“And it is also utterly unacceptable to hold athletic competitions — which have always brought peoples together, strengthening friendship and mutual trust — hostage for reasons of political ambition. Attempts to manipulate the outcome of competitions does not honour those who flaunt their allegiance to fair competition but actually violate the General Assembly principles supporting the independence and autonomy of sports. In today’s world, we cannot be guided by the philosophy of the anti-heroes of George Orwell’s dystopic novel Animal Farm, where all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“By and large, the attempt to use those conflicts to achieve self-serving geopolitical goals has been obvious to everyone. The latest meeting of the International Syria Contact Group gives us reason to remain very cautiously optimistic. More broadly, it is only through the genuine implementation of all agreements that we will be able to have, in the Euro-Atlantic area, equal and indivisible security for mutually beneficial cooperation, as was stated at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe nearly 20 years ago. Neither NATO nor the European Union will be able to replace a truly collective unification of efforts in the interest of all without losers and winners.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“That is key to reaching a cessation of hostilities and national reconciliation. Today, it is unpardonable to put off intra-Syrian negotiations, as well as to impose preconditions to them. Everything must be done in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). Sabotaging the process — in particular through the use of external forces, including their advisers and supporters — has a negative impact on the reputation of the United Nations and leads us to believe that the reason for it lies in an attempt to change the regime. We have seen that sort of zero-sum game in Ukraine, which is very close to us, in the unconstitutional attempts to overthrow the Government and now in Ukraine’s refusal to fulfil the Minsk Agreement of 12 February 2015.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is now essential to prevent the collapse of those agreements and to carry out an unbiased and impartial investigation into the incidents in Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo, which undermine the agreements, especially given that there are quite a few people wishing to sabotage both the agreements and a settlement of the conflict in Syria. It is crucial to comply with the demand of the Security Council to separate what is known as the moderate opposition from the terrorists. And, in that regard, a particular responsibility lies with the United States and the members of the United States- led coalition. If we truly wish to resolve the Syrian crisis and the appalling humanitarian situation there, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, Jabhat al-Nusrah and associated extremist groups must be suppressed.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Largely thanks to Russia’s military response and assistance at the request of the legitimate Government of Syria, it has been possible to prevent the collapse of that country’s statehood and the disintegration of the country under the onslaught of terrorists. Our involvement provided the impetus for the establishment of the International Syria Support Group, which seeks to start a meaningful political process so that the Syrians themselves can determine the future of their country through an inclusive dialogue among all ethnic and religious groups. That is uncontestable. It has been acknowledged in the relevant Security Council resolutions and is enshrined in the recent agreements between Russia and the United States as Co-Chairs of the International Syria Support Group. We thank everyone who has supported us in those efforts.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Unfortunately, despite having acknowledged that fact, many Western countries continue to favour their entrenched ideas of mentoring, dominance, exclusiveness and the realization of self-interests by any means, rather than promote just and equitable cooperation. We see, in the bloodshed in the Middle East and North Africa, the consequences of such arrogance and their sense of infallibility in their pushing forward unilateral and reckless solutions to complex conflicts. As a result, the foundations of world stability are being destroyed. It is high time to draw the necessary lessons and avoid sinking into catastrophe in Syria.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Last year, from this same rostrum, at the seventieth anniversary session of the General Assembly, much was said concerning the critical turning point in world development. The keynote was the recognition that humankind is moving from a bipolar and monopolar world order towards multipolar and democratic systems of international relations with regard to dealing with common challenges and threats, which we can overcome only through joint efforts. It was rightly stressed that there is a need to change the very philosophy of inter-State communication by avoiding attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of States or to impose development models on countries and peoples.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We all have an obligation to celebrate in an appropriate manner the anniversary of the great victory and to pay tribute to the memory of all who perished for freedom and the right of each people to determine their own destiny. The lessons of that terrible war and the entire course of events in today’s world require us to join efforts and forget about unilateral interests and national electoral cycles when it comes to countering global threats to all humankind. National egoism should not be allowed to prevail over collective responsibility.”
2014-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 69 (2014)